Former South African president Nelson Mandela, who is 94, is looking much better after more than two weeks in hospital, president Jacob Zuma said today.

Apartheid-era hero Cyril Ramaphosa returns to frontline politics as deputy leader

South Africa's president Jacob Zuma said his country is not “falling apart” as he opened a conference which will decide whether he remains as leader of the African National Congress.

After eight days in hospital, officials finally reveal why South Africa's former president is there - but not the location

Nelson Mandela is undergoing medical tests in South Africa, it was revealed yesterday, as the former South African president was admitted to hospital. A statement from President Jacob Zuma's office said Mr Mandela was "doing well and there is no cause for alarm".

Former South African president Nelson Mandela has been admitted to hospital for medical tests, although the government said there was no cause for alarm.

Nelson Mandela, at 94, keeps going but those who fought the good fight by his side, his closest associates in politics and his best friends pass on. Jakes Gerwel, who was buried at the weekend in Cape Town, played all three parts. Few people knew it.

Our correspondent meets the legendary Uri Avnery, who roars out against Netanyahu and his government and foresees growing ethnic strife in Israel

South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) pledged yesterday to stop its supporters singing the "Shoot the Boer" anti-apartheid anthem to avoid upsetting white farmers and stirring racial tension.

The effort to kick racism out of football has suffered major set backs in recent weeks, but is this really the answer?

It is not until the acknowledgements at the end of his Man Booker-longlisted 21st novel that the South African author André Brink reveals the historical roots from which it sprang: "[The slave woman Philida] worked as a knitting girl on the farm from 1824 to 1832," he writes. "The discovery that her master Cornelis Brink was a brother of one of my own direct ancestors, and that he sold her at auction after his son Francois Gerhard Jacob Brink had made four children with her, triggered this novel."

It is not until the acknowledgements at the end of his Man Booker-longlisted 21st novel that the South African author André Brink reveals the historical roots from which it sprang: "[The slave woman Philida] worked as a knitting girl on the farm from 1824 to 1832," he writes. "The discovery that her master Cornelis Brink was a brother of one of my own direct ancestors, and that he sold her at auction after his son Francois Gerhard Jacob Brink had made four children with her, triggered this novel."

Archbishop Desmond Tutu has pulled out of international leadership summit because he doesn't want to share a platform with Tony Blair, it emerged yesterday.